Small emergency lexicon
It is often referred to as a temple, but in reality, the Thai wat is a much larger complex encompassing temples, monastery, school, offices, housing ... Its plan, always the same, is a symbolic reproduction of the cosmic universe celebrated in Buddhism. It is surrounded by two enclosures symbolizing the separation of the sacred and the profane. The outer enclosure houses the functional buildings. The inner enclosure surrounds the phuttawat, the main space of the temple. In the centre of this space is the booth or ubosot, the sacred space reserved for the religious where the ordination ceremonies take place. Facing east, this space houses the main Buddha of the monastery. The bai sema, 8 stone markers often engraved with vegetal motifs, delimit this sacred area. This sanctuary is rectangular, raised and surrounded by a colonnade. It is protected by a multi-storey roof, topped by a spire. The wihan or vihara, a room on columns where the faithful gather, has the same plan as the booth but is not bounded by any boundary markers. The mondop, with a square floor plan, houses the sacred texts and objects of worship. The ho trai is the library. It is often built in the middle of a pond or on a platform to keep pests away from the precious manuscripts. The sala are resting pavilions that line the wat. Isolated by a wall, the sanghawat gathers the pavilions reserved for monks. But if there was only one word to remember, it would be chedi, the symbol par excellence of Buddhism. Inherited from the Indian stupa, the chedi is originally a mound sheltering the remains of a high-ranking deceased person. According to the legend, Buddha's ashes were distributed in 8 stupas, which explains the symbolic significance of the latter. The Thai chedi has gradually lost the original appearance of the mound in favor of a more slender silhouette. It most often has the shape of a hemispherical dome or a bell topped by a ring-mast crowned with several parasols representing the different stages leading to Nirvana. The chedi houses the relics of an important person and often presides over the construction of the wat that surrounds it. Now that you're familiar with the wat, let's discover its different styles!
From the origins to the first Indian kingdoms
The prehistoric site of Ban Chiang, in the province of Udon Thani, bears witness to an occupation dating back to around 3000 BC. Within the excavated burial mounds have been found numerous objects and tools proving the refinement of these early inhabitants, who are also believed to have been responsible for the rock paintings on the cliffs of Pa Thaem. From the first centuries of our era, Siam (now Thailand) came under Indian influence. In the 3rd century, the Indian king Ashoka sent missionaries there to develop Buddhism. The first Indian colony is based in Si Thep. In the city of Chaiya was found the oldest representation of Vishnu in Southeast Asia (5th century). The Mon, originally settled in Burma, also occupied central and southern Thailand. There, they formed a series of small kingdoms based on an Indianized and Buddhist culture. This is the so-called Dvaravati period, which extends from the 6th to the 11th century. At that time, the towns were built according to an oval plan and surrounded by a moat. The chedi, made of brick, have a rectangular base and rise in decreasing levels. Only a few remains remain from this period, such as the stupa of Khu Bua in the province of Ratchaburi. At the same time, another school called Srivijaya (8th-13th), named after the then rapidly expanding city-state of Sumatra, developed. Few monuments of importance dating from this period have been found, but it is known that the temples followed the precepts of Mahayana Buddhism and that their chedi were of Indo-Javanese inspiration, particularly the presence of arches.
From Khmer heritage to Lan Na school
From the 7th century onwards, the powerful Khmer empire made Siam one of its provinces. This explains the presence of superb examples of Khmer art in Thailand, starting with the temples Prasat Hin Phimai, Phnom Wan, Phnom Rung and Muang Tham, which were all connected to the powerful Angkor by a system of laterite paved roads (local red rock). Prasat is the Khmer word for temple. In keeping with Hindu tradition, the plan of the temple is a reproduction of the cosmos, the centre of which is the mythical Meru Mountain, residence of the gods. Thus, in the centre of the prasat is the prang or tower-sanctuary housing the main deity. The presence of this tower earned the Khmer temples the nickname "mountain temples". Most often, the tower is in the shape of a corn cob enhanced with a lace of carved motifs. Four more modest towers sheltering the wife and the vehicle of the god are attached to it. To reach the central sanctuary, one must cross the two square enclosures of the prasat and climb stairs or bridges protected from the nagas
(mythical creatures with snake bodies protecting Buddha). From the 10th to 13th centuries, Khmer art also developed in the town of Lopburi, but in an even more monumental version largely inspired by the architecture of the Indian Empire of Pala. Khmer temples are built in brick, sandstone or laterite. At the same time, in the north of the country, another style is developing: the Lan Na school (11th-20th centuries). The temples of this school are characterized by an important use of wood (especially for carved decoration and coffered ceilings), a multi-paned and low-line roof, and tripartite façades giving onto 3 open naves divided by massive pillars. Ceremonial doors inspired by Indian gopuras or entrance pavilions, also found in Khmer temples, are also present. The chedi gradually adopts a cubic shape with horizontal tiers in successive recesses with a bell-shaped upper part covered with gilded copper leaf. In the 19th century, the temples were inspired by the Burmese tradition by playing on the contrast between the white of the walls and the gold of the chedi. Some of them rest on an elongated base surrounded by a brick wall that delimits a circumambulation path for the faithful and symbolizing the course of the world. The most beautiful Lan Na representatives can be found in the city of Chiang Mai, such as the chedi of Wat Phra Singh, dating from 1345. Notice the superimposition of recessed rings arranged one on top of the other and this superb golden arrow. It is not surprising that the city is one of the singers of this style, with its emphasis on wood, since Chang Mai was one of the great centers of teak exploitation. Also don'tmiss the Wat Phra That Lampang Luang in Lampong and its sparkling golden arrow.Birth of a Thai art
Under continuous pressure from the Mongols, the Thai people are forced to leave their home region of Yunnan in southern China. They will then settle in the heart of present-day Thailand. We are in the 13th century and the cradle of Thai civilization is being formed in Sukhothai. The city was inscribed in a rectangular plan and protected by 3 earth levees separated by 2 moats. Inside these ramparts were many temples and monasteries. Only the ruins of about twenty of them are still visible today. The largest temple of the city is the Wat Mahathat. Built by Indraditya, the first king of the Sukhothai dynasty, between 1220 and 1250, and redesigned by King Lo Thai in 1345, it consists of a set of Khmer heritage sanctuary towers and bell-shaped stupas, inherited from the Sinhalese tradition which also inspired the presence of elephants carved at the base of the towers. Its central tower, carried by a very high quadrangular base, is crowned by a bulb stretching out in a point called "lotus bud". This form of chedi
is only found in Sukhothai. Around 1350, Sukhothai will be supplanted by another city at the origin of a new kingdom: Ayutthaya. The kingdom was inspired by Khmer traditions and culture, notably by transforming its rulers into god-kings. Armed with this power, the rulers of Ayutthaya will develop an architecture representing this ideal of strength and power. It is necessary to build ever bigger and ever more beautiful in order to make a lasting impression on people's minds. Thus the prang inherited from the Khmers are made higher and higher, while the arrows of the chedi inherited from the Sukhothai tradition are made more and more slender. As for the wihans, they are getting higher and higher with their roofs and golden stucco decoration. One of the oldest temples of the city of Ayutthaya is the Wat Phra Ram whose carved elephants and the central tower dominated by a prang surrounded by galleries decorated with nagas can still be admired. The most known symbols of Ayutthaya are the three chedi of Wat PhraSi Sanphet. The king being the representative of the gods on earth, his palace is always located near the main temple of the city. This is the case in Ayutthaya. Finally, let us quote the central prang of Wat Arun, "the Temple of the Dawn", the most famous of Thailand. Decorated with multicoloured ceramic inlays, it rises to almost 86 m. 4 staircases oriented towards the cardinal points give access to a terrace halfway up, offering a superb view of this legendary temple.Kingdom of Rattanakosin
In 1767, Ayutthaya is destroyed by the Burmese. The flight is inevitable. It is then necessary to find a new capital. In a meander of the Chao Phraya, engineers dig a canal so that an island is formed on which the fortified royal city will be built. This island is Rattanakosin. This city, it is Bangkok. One is in 1782, the kingdom of Rattanakosin has just been born. Canals are used as ramparts with the city, while in edge of the city a wall of defense equipped with 14 turns is set up. Today only 2 towers are still visible. Before it was equipped with its first paved streets in 1836, Bangkok was especially a city of water which developed along the klongs, these channels created to support the rise of water at times of monsoons. In the 18th and 19th centuries, important works were carried out to conquer more and more land, a sort of Haussmannian urbanism where the large boulevards were replaced by large navigable axes. As soon as the city was created, the royal power had its temples and palaces built on the island, the cradle of the new kingdom. The objective was clear: the splendor of Ayutthaya had to be restored and the tradition perpetuated. Thus, the first buildings constructed were essentially replicas of the monuments of the former capital. Then gradually, Bangkok will seek to surpass its model by creating a very particular style, mixture of Asian and Western influences, in particular as from the years 1850. This is why the "Rattanakosin style" is also called "Bangkok style". This mixture of styles is all the more interesting as it is the witness of a unique approach in Southeast Asia. Indeed, unlike its neighbors, Thailand has never been colonized by the West. On the other hand, the sovereigns Rama IV and V have always maintained a special relationship with Europe made of admiration: Europe being the crucible of all the innovations of the time, to be inspired by its style is a proof of modernity and opening. Moreover, to equip itself with buildings with European accents is a way for Thailand to show that it can play on equal terms with the great colonial empires. You will therefore not be surprised to discover Victorian, neo-Gothic or even Art Nouveau inspired buildings within temples inherited from Hindu or Chinese traditions. It is the case in particular in the two great symbols of Bangkok: Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace. In this vast complex, you will be able to admire the gardens and the roofs with several curved levels and covered with glazed tiles of Chinese inspiration; the Boron Phiman mansion of neo-Renaissance style and of course jewels of the Thai decorative art. Another beautiful witness of this mixture of styles: the Wat Benchamabopit building. Its three-story roof is covered with yellow Chinese tiles, while its Carrara marble walls are pierced with stained glass windows of Western inspiration. Outside of Bangkok, this monumental and eclectic style finds its finest representative in Phetchaburi in the Phra Nakhon Khiri Palace, summer residence of Rama V. Overlooking a hill, it mixes Khmer prang, tapered chedi and temple with the appearance of a Greco-Roman creation. Amazing!
The traditional house
Rich of an exceptional religious architecture, Thailand also has a very rich traditional civil architecture, thought to adapt at the same time to the needs of the men and the constraints of the environment. Generally speaking, houses are made of local natural materials (wood, bamboo, dried leaves) and built on stilts. They consist of one or two rooms and an outside gallery where daily life is organized. Their structure is composed of prefabricated panels, nested and not fixed with nails, and therefore very easy to dismantle. The thatched or teak roofs are very sloping in order to evacuate rainwater more easily. The windows are longer than they are tall to keep the interior cool and dry. The idea is that the house should be as simple as possible in order to live in harmony with the surrounding nature. If each ethnic group has its specificities, all Thai villages have, in addition to the houses, a Buddhist temple, a school and a market. The houses of the Central Plains, built on solid posts, are characterized by their very sloping roofs and by their walls with panels which lean towards the interior. When families are large, several dwellings can be arranged around a common platform or area. In well-to-do families, this platform is usually closed by an elegantly decorated gate. Finally, these houses on the plains are distinguished by the presence of ngao, curved decorations borrowed from Khmer culture that underline the gabled roofs. In the north, the panelled walls lean outwards, giving the roof structure a more solid and robust appearance. The windows are smaller there due to the colder temperatures. In Chiang Mai province, the roofs of houses are surmounted by a kalae, a V-shaped decoration representing buffalo horns, a symbol of abundance. In the houses, kitchen and living room communicate to take advantage of the heat and a short balcony runs along the length of the house to allow better air circulation between inside and outside, natural ventilation reinforced by the pile structure. These northern houses also have a rice loft, also on stilts, which is accessed by a ladder. In Bangkok, you will be able to observe amazing floating houses. While most of them are moored to poles, some simply rest on rafts that allow them to adapt to the movement of the water, especially in times of flooding. Today, the pilings of a number of houses are weakened by motorboat traffic on the klongs. It is not easy to live on the water! Finally, each house has its "house of the spirits" or phra phum. Thai people believe in the spirit of the place. Thus, to be in good agreement with the spirit of the place they have chosen to occupy, they build a house for it which they place on a pillar not far from their main dwelling. To ensure the good graces of the spirits, the Thais make offerings to them... and above all make sure that the main house does not overshadow the spirit house!
